“Daddy Issues” – Poem by Adrianne Munroe

Adrianne Munroe, poet

Adrianne is currently a student at St. John’s University, majoring in Communication Arts, currently thinking about the possibility of minoring in English.

She was born and raised in the Bronx, NY.

At St. John’s University, she serves as a “Discover New York” Peer Leader while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree. She loves Drama Studies, professional dancing, as well as writing poetry.

Adrianne was kind enough to share her poem (“Daddy Issues”) with me, and was even more thrilled that she wanted to share her poem with others on this blog.

I am extremely proud of her as a person, a poet, a human, and a woman. I was fortunate enough to be her instructor at St. John’s, which is where our paths crossed.

On November 29th, 2018, I performed my self written poem titled “Daddy Issues” at the St. John’s event known as Gospel Cafe, which is hosted by the organizations known as Sinai’s Radiant Liturgical Dance Ministry and E.D.E.N. It is a night where students showcase their talents varying from singing, spoken word, and dance along with the incorporated message of faith and trust in God and the growth in one’s spiritual journey. My name is Adrianne Munroe, 19 years old, and I am someone of various gifts/talents but I have an undeniable love and passion for writing and poetry. I was born in the Bronx and raised by two amazing Jamaican parents. For as long as I can remember, I have always been heavily intertwined with my creative side whether it would be singing, dancing, or writing. In the past year, I have been learning and acknowledging the fact that I am a powerful writer and my words have the power to evoke strong emotional and personal feelings from those who experience it. I am currently majoring in Communication Arts at St. John’s University and I am expected to graduate in the year 2021.

“Daddy Issues” by Adrianne Munroe

Dear Papa, Abba, Father, Daddy . . .

Dear Papa, Abba, Father, Daddy

There she is

Your daughter

At 12 years old

Broken, battered, torn down, with a mind plagued by thoughts of the enemy.

The devil how in your weakest & darkest moments, from every corner, his attacks become so bold.

A beautiful rose, slowly withering & decaying because the devil continuously whispered in her ear and said that she would never be enough.

Not to her precious savior and certainly not to her own father.

So there she was believing the venomous lies of the deceiver, thinking that her creator and her own blood had abandoned her.

And for that she thought to herself why on earth should she keep going, why bother.

But you see as she was struggling with the shackles of suffering and crippling depression,

Her father was dealing with demons of his own that were prohibiting his greatest progression.

She didn’t realize that he too was being stifled by the hand of the enemy in the form of a poison that for her plagued her mind but for him in which he drank would plague his body.

Two children of God suffering in silence, harboring different black holes of darkness.

It is relentless how the enemy will beat you down until you have nothing left in you.

He will gladly take you through the darkest moments you will ever experience and block you from receiving your blessings along with the everlasting love and grace of God.

Dear Abba, my precious Savior

There she is

Your daughter

At 16 years old

Still Broken, Battered, worn down & now she has become filled with anger and resentment against both fathers in her life along with the attacks of the enemy that still remain so bold.

She has now learned the art of putting up a facade and creating a mask that hid the depths of her inadequacy & lack of self- love

Surrounded by so called friends that further fueled her depression and regression of her true self.

But little did she know, you never stopped loving her and kept embracing her with your grace as you watched her from above.

Despite being enveloped in anger and sadness

Her pillows stained with the tears of loss & shame

You were there through it all, firmly grounded in her life in the depths of all the madness.

Papa you sliced through those words of the deceiver, the liar and fed her with encouragement, strength, and most of all forgiveness.

Through you she learned a new art, to forgive, to let go and let her savior, fight all battles that she thought she had lost.

Along that dark road, her own father found his redemption and that was a line that the enemy could never cross.

The poison that attacked his body turned into water and the closer she got with you was the closer he got to you and his own daughter too.

Dear Papa, Abba, Father, Daddy

Here we are today

Years later

No longer broken, battered, and torn down,& your daughter is now learning what it means to be covered in the blood of Christ & surrounded by the unconditional love of her two protectors & providers

Thank you for the essential gift of life and breath

So where did that rose go you might ask?

She is right here

Here I am

Standing tall at last

At 19 years old

No longer withered or decaying

That same beautiful and now blooming rose

I will always be loved and forever in your favor. I am no longer bound and those chains are now broken.